Harpephyllum caffrum

Harpephyllum caffrum

Quantity:

Common Names

Wild Plum (english)
Wildepruim (afrikaans)
Umgwenya (zulu)
Umgwenye (xhosa)

Taxonomy

Family ANACARDIACEAE
Genus Harpephyllum
Species caffrum
SA Plant Number 361
Basionym Harpephyllum caffrum

Description

Harpephyllum caffrum is a fairly hardy, large evergreen tree. It has attractive dark foliage with the odd red leaf in the crown.

The small yellowish-green flowers are borne in terminal sprays from October to February. Male and female flowers are on separate trees, therefore only female plants bear fruit

Fleshy red berries follow the flowers and attract many fruit eating birds to the garden. The fruits and the kernels are edible and a delicious jelly can be made from the pulp.

This is a beautifully shaped tree for gardens and makes a wonderful street tree. The bark is used for medicinal purposes and the wood used for furniture.

Size 10 to 20m

Wildlife

Wildlife garden plant:

The fruit attract many fruit-eating birds to the garden.

Uses

Distribution

Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal, Free State, Eastern Cape


Biome:
Forest

Natural Habitat:

Evergreen Forest

 

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